Auckland bus heads down wrong side of road

NZME.

16 Mar, 2015 06:20 AM2 mins to read

The bus was snapped going the wrong way around a busy roundabout. Photo / Jono Norton

A passenger on a bus that drove down the wrong side of the road on Auckland's North Shore this morning says he has "no issue" with the manoeuvre as it saved him 30 minutes.

Both Auckland Transport and operator NZ Bus say they are taking the incident seriously and efforts are being made to track down the driver.

WERE YOU ON THE BUS? CONTACT THE HERALD HERE

However, a commuter on the bus, who asked to remain anonymous, said no one on the bus said anything at the time, and he believed the manoeuvre at the Greville Rd interchange was warranted.

"Traffic at the junction is often bad with an empty bus lane and cars blocking the junction. As a result, buses often take the lane to go straight ahead then cut across at the junction.

"Today's driver went a little further by going down that lane then as the junction was snarled looped around the roundabout entrance."

The commuter said the move saved everyone on the bus 30 minutes and he had "no issue" with the driver's actions.

But a witness who saw the manoeuvre said it could have been a close call for cars coming down the hill.

Jono Norton, 36, photographed the Metrolink bus on his way to work about 8am.

"It was right in front of me and [the bus] pulled out over the double yellows and drove down the wrong side for about 50-100m and then went around the round-about the wrong way.

"Someone could have come around the corner."

Mr Norton said it looked like the driver was trying to get around traffic.

"The traffic was built up all the way up the hill and [the bus] actually went into the wrong lane and down the hill where it was clear."

An Auckland Transport spokesman said: "We take issues like this very seriously and have asked NZ Bus for an urgent report."

NZ Bus northern chief operating officer Shane McMahon said the company was taking "this incident seriously and is in the process of identifying the bus and driver as part of a full investigation".